\u201cThe Heart,\u201d based on the French novel \u201cR\u00e9parer les Vivants\u201d by Maylis de Kerangal, is set in San Diego over the span of 24 hours as it follows a late young surfer\u2019s donated heart through its journey to a critically ill recipient.<\/p>\n
The playhouse describes it as \u201can enlightening, edge-of-your-seat ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike revivals of musicals such as \u201cCabaret\u201d and \u201cCamelot,\u201d in which the script and score are set before production, \u201cThe Heart\u201d is new, with a book by Kait Kerrigan, who also contributed lyrics, music and lyrics by Anne and Ian Eisendrath and choreography by Mandy Moore.<\/p>\n
As such, Ashley guesses every page of the script has been modified in some way over the past four weeks, and the team has thrown out two songs and wrote two originals in their place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first time it\u2019s ever been done, so it\u2019s being rewritten as we\u2019re working on it,\u201d Ashley said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like flying a plane while you\u2019re building it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of that process included research that Ashley said enabled the cast and crew to be immersed in the spaces where the story takes place.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause half of it happens in hospitals, we\u2019ve had amazing conversations with all kinds of top-notch medical personnel about what they do and how it works \u2014 people who work in transplants, people who do cardiovascular surgery and all the amazing people who work in emergency rooms around the city,\u201d Ashley said.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LJL-L-THE-HEART-03.jpg\")
The creative team behind \u201cThe Heart\u201d consists of (from left) choreographer Mandy Moore, songwriter Anne Eisendrath, book writer Kait Kerrigan, songwriter Ian Eisendrath and director Christopher Ashley. (Tia Byington)<\/p>\n
And that isn\u2019t all.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also starts with a surfer catching the first wave of the morning,\u201d Ashley said. \u201cSo all the cast has been learning to surf, if they already didn\u2019t know how.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the key elements propelling \u201cThe Heart\u201d is a musical score that Ashley describes as very different from his past experience as a director.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EDM [electronic dance music] vibe of the score uses the sounds of hospitals, of nightclubs, of the beach and the ocean and of the human heart,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s this very unconventional kind of innovative set of sounds that come together to make the score.\u201d<\/p>\n
The show sports a cast of nine actors who embody more than 40 characters. Many of them are familiar faces at La Jolla Playhouse, including Heidi Blickenstaff, who starred in \u201cFreaky Friday,\u201d Zachary Noah Piser of \u201cRedwood\u201d and Paul Alexander Nolan (\u201cEscape to Margaritaville\u201d).<\/p>\n
Ashley says \u201cThe Heart\u201d comes at an especially relevant time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very much a story about what we owe our fellow human beings, even those we may never meet,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it feels like a great time in history to tell a story about generosity and about taking care of each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re living in such a fractured moment that it\u2019s great to tell a story that ultimately makes the case for how interconnected we all are.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"La](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sut-l-stage-theheart-04.jpg\")
La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley (right) speaks with cast member Lincoln Clauss during a rehearsal for the world-premiere musical \u201cThe Heart.\u201d (Samantha Laurent)<\/p>\n